STAFF at Liverpool John Lennon Airport are being paid “bonuses” to catch passengers travelling with excess baggage.

New arrangements at the Speke airport mean eagle-eyed handlers are now on the hunt more than ever for weighty luggage.

Handling agent Servisair rubber-stamped a deal to reward its employees with cash incentives.

For each bag identified as being too large for the flight deck, the staff member will be given 50p.

But to encourage further diligence that payment will only come into force if an employee reaches a target of 10 bags a week.

Under this agreement Servisair workers can earn an extra £5 each seven days, while offending customers are simultaneously hit with a baggage fine, often as high as £40.

The change only affects one of the five airlines operating out of John Lennon Airport, depending on their particular contract arrangements.

Ryanair flights are the only services where such an arrangement is in place, as Easyjet, KLM and FlyBe do not have such a system.

Many customers choose to take only hand luggage on short trips to Europe to avoid the checked-in baggage fee, which can range from £15 to £55 per person, one way.

But the policy of giving incentives to Servisair handlers may mean staff become stricter in how they enforce the rule.

One Servisair employee, who works at the Speke airport, said: “They brought in this new rule a few weeks ago.

“We’re pleased to be honest. It means we can earn a few extra quid.

“If I now see a bag that could be on the borderline I say, ‘let’s have a look if that’s too big for the overhead lockers’.

“Whereas previously we might have let borderline baggage through, now we’ll be more stringent.”

Today, Servisair said the change, made at the end of summer, was not a move to further tax passengers.

The company believes it is passing on any bonuses it may receive from Ryanair, for meeting the airline’s targets, to its own staff.

The ECHO understands Servisair is anxious to address excess baggage problems as they lead to extra work and delays, which affects its own contracts with airlines and ultimately, how much the handler is paid.

A Servisair spokesman said: “Our clients’ airlines, of which Ryanair is one, incentivise ground handlers to achieve contracted service levels based on performance indicators which include: on-time performance, lost baggage statistics, baggage delivery times and many others which at some airlines include excess baggage revenue.

“In the case of Liverpool John Lennon and this contract Servisair have taken the decision to pass some of this performance commission on to the frontline staff.

“This does not in any way affect the travelling public who at all times are aware of the terms and conditions relating to baggage.”

Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said: “All our passengers are advised of, and agree to, our generous 10kg cabin bag allowance during booking and are reminded of our allowances in follow-up emails and on our boarding cards, which passengers print before they leave for the airport.

“Only those passengers who do not comply with these agreed cabin bag limits will ever be subject to avoidable gate bag charges.”